August 13, 2022, 4:54 PM
August 13, 2022, 4:54 PM
The monkeypox, also called monkeypox and monkeypox, is a disease that has caused a health alert in the world since May 2022, and on July 23 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a multinational outbreak of this infection. In Bolivia, the first case was registered on August 1 and, to date, 11 cases have been confirmed through the laboratory.
Why is it important to go to a health center if I suspect I have this disease? and why should I not be afraid of the test? We explain it to you:
1. – Monkeypox is a viral disease characterized by rash or skin lesions that are usually concentrated on the face, palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. But those symptoms can also appear if the person contracts chicken pox, measles, herpes, scabies, syphilis and even some drug allergies. Therefore, it is important to go to the doctor to make the proper diagnosis. So, a suspected case of monkeypox may be another disease, or indeed it may be monkeypox, but to find out it is necessary to have a test.
2.- That test is available in Bolivia. The sample is analyzed both in Cenetrop and Inlasa (for the east and west of the country, respectively) and the results are delivered within hours. The person in charge of Urban Health Networks at the Headquarters, Jorge Quiroz, explained that there are three ways to take the sample: If the person has vesicles or blisters on the skin, A sterile needle or scalpel blade will be used to burst it and, using a swab, remove the fluid and take it into a special tube, called a viral transport.
If, instead, the patient were in the phase in which the vesicles have crusted over, with a scalpel blade that scab will be removed to, helped by a swab, take a sample of the skin that is under it and also take it to the means of transport. Finally, a pharyngeal swab can be done, the doctor explained. In none of the three cases, the sampling hurts.
3.- According to the World Health Organization and infectious disease doctors, monkeypox can be contracted through close or direct contact with someone who has symptoms and that contact can be: skin to skin, face to face, mouth to skin or touching sheets, towels, infected clothing or other objects. It can also be spread through respiratory droplets. For this reason, suspected and confirmed patients are isolated. In Bolivia they are kept in home isolation; but, if the necessary conditions do not exist, patients are transferred to a health center for the duration of the illness, which is approximately 21 days. Till the date six Bolivian patients are isolated in health centers. In addition, the contacts of confirmed patients are followed up.
4.- Monkeypox is not a disease whose symptoms usually go away on their own and, in very few cases, become serious. Therefore, the treatment is related, above all to these symptoms, which can include fever, muscle pain, back pain, and lack of energy. Currently, the 11 confirmed monkeypox patients are stable and none are seriously ill.
5.- There are medical brigades in the country that do Follow-up of both suspected and positive cases to mokeypox and his contacts. In a coordinated effort between the three levels of the State, doctors provide care through visits, but also virtually, through Telehealth.